Intravenous solution flask provided with a snap-up bail



Sept. 15, 1953 c. B. BISHOP 2,652,054

INTRAVENOUS SOLUTION FLASK PROVIDED WITH A SNAP-UP BAIL.

Filed Oct. 6, 1951 INVENTOR. Cup/ 040 8.845%:

a MW Arrow/[rs Patented Sept. 15, 1953 INTRAVENOUS SOLUTION FLASK PROVIDED WlT H ASNAP-UP BAIL Clilfprd 3- Bishop, Oakland, Calif., assignor to :CutterLalioratorie's, Berkeley,alif., a corpo- Application October 6, 1951, Serial No. 250,174

This invention relates in o-general to flasks irom which solutions rormakingintrayenous injections are dispersed and more particularly to a flask provided with a snap-up bail for suspending it in its operative inverted position.

For storage and shipping purposes it is essential that the bail of such a flask can be made to lie substantially within the confines of its base. Although flasks of this character are presently available on the market, they can be set up in their operative position only by the use of both hands of the operator.

In general the object of this invention is the provision of a flask bodily graspable in one hand in combination with a spring steel bail receivable at its ends in diametrically opposed sockets formed in the lower end of the flask immediately adjacent and parallel to its base and wherein said flask is provided with an arcuate bead disposed in the path of said bail as it rotates from its inoperative position partially surrounding said base to its operative position at right angles to said base.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a combination of the character above described wherein the lower end of said flask is inclined, wherein said sockets are located on said inclined end and wherein portions of said bail are held resiliently in contact with the adjacent portions or said inclined end.

ihe invention possesses other advantageous features, some of which, with the foregoing, will be set forth at length in the following description where that form of the invention which has been selected for illustration in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the present specification is outlined in full. In said drawings, one form of the invention is shown, but it is to be understood that it is not limited to such form, since the invention as set forth in the claims may be embodied in a plurality of forms.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a flask and bail embodying the objects of my invention wherein the flask is held by one hand of an operator, the thumb of the operator being positioned on the bail for the purpose of releasing it from its inoperative position.

Figure 2 is a bottom plan view of the flask shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the lower end of the flask shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section taken on the line l-4 of Figure 2 but with the bail shown in its upright and operative position.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2.

2 Claims. (Cl. 128-214) Figure .6 is a plan View of the bail shown disconnected fromits flask.

As shown in these various figures the objects of my invention have been embodied in a generally cylindrical flask l of such a size as to be bodily graspable in the hand 2 of an operator and provided with a screw cap 3 through which ingress to and egress from the interior of the bottle may be gained by a section of tubing d.

Molded integrally with the lower end of the flask are symmetrically disposed, reinforcing scallops 5, the bases thereof merging with each other to form the rounded or inclined end 6 of the flask. Protruding below the scallops 5 is the flat base i of the flask on which the flask can be supported when in an erect position. Molded in the inclined lower end of the flask within the confines of a pair of diametrically opposed scallops 5 are a pair of generally circular sockets 3.

Associated with the flask as above described is a spring steel bail generally designated by the reference numeral 9 and provided with reversely bent arcuate ends ll receivable in the sockets 8, with an arcuate apex i2, with intermediate inclined portions l3, and with slightly arcuate contact sections it. From a close inspection of Figures 1, 2, 3 and l it will be noticed that the contact sections Ill are always held resiliently in contact with the peripheral edges of the sockets 8. Since each socket 8 is formed on the inclined end 8 of the flask its peripheral edge serves as an inclined plane over which the bail contact sections i i are forced to travel under the influence of the resiliency of the bail. When the ball is in its vertical position, as illustrated in Figure 4, with the sections [4 in contact with the uppermost edges of sockets S, the distance between the two ends of the bail is at its minimum. As the bail is rotated from this position to its horizontal inactive position, as illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the ends of the bail gradually spread until at the horizontal position of the bail the distance between the ends thereof is at a maximum. The bail can move only in this manner for the diameter of its arcuate ends II is substantially equal to the diameter of the sockets t, and consequently the plane of the bail 9 always contains the common axis of the sockets 8.

As best shown in Figure 2, those portions of the rounded end of the flask subtending the bases of the scallops 5, define beads or detents l5 immediately outboard of the bail portions [3 when the bail is in its horizontal position, and which lie in the path of the straight portions 13. The detents l5 therefor serve to hold the bail 9 in its inactive horizontal position. From this position the bail can be released as illustrated in Figure 1 by forcing it upwardly and thus causing its portions l3 to ride over the detents I5. In doing this the ends of the bail spread slightly but not enough to become disengaged from the sockets 8. After passing over the detents I5 the bail portions l4 ride over the inclined peripheral edges of the sockets under the resiliency of the bail so as to raise the bail with a snap action to its vertical operative position.

It will therefore be seen that I have provided a combination flask and bail wherein when the flask is not in use the bail can be locked in a horizontal position straddling the lower end of the flask and wherein the bail can be released from this position to its vertical operative position by the use of the thumb of the hand by which the flask is held.

I claim:

1. In combination: a flask and a spring wire bail, said flask having a substantially cylindrical lower end formed with diametrically opposed in-' clined portions and said inclined portions being formed with diametrically opposed sockets for the reception of the ends of said bail; means provided on the ends of said bail for constraining said ends always to remain centered in said sockets, said means having portions arranged to be maintained resiliently in engagement with the peripheral edges of said sockets.

2. A combination such as defined in claim 1 wherein said flask is provided with a bail latching projectionat its lower end in the path of said bail as said bail is moved from a vertical position to a horizontal position.

' CLIFFORD B. BISHOP.

Name Date Houghton Nov. 28, 1905 Number 

